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Chrysler shifts gears to sell key 200 midsize sedan

The Chrysler 200, formerly known as "Imported from Detroit" is changing its marketing line to "America's Import," in a new advertising campaign that launches Saturday. "It's a brand that competes with imports,

The Chrysler 200, formerly known as "Imported from Detroit" is changing its marketing line to "America's Import," in a new advertising campaign that launches Saturday.

"It's a brand that competes with imports, it's a brand that proves you don't have to go overseas to get a quality car," Olivier Francois, Fiat and Chrysler's chief marketing officer, told the Free Press.

The former tagline, made famous in the 2011 Super Bowl commercial with Eminem, won't disappear completely. But it is time to move on.

"The 'Imported from Detroit' story has been told," Francois said. "It put the brand back on the map and it did its job."

The 2015 Chrysler 200 marketing blitz begins with a pair of 30-second and 60-second spots featuring Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed," that has been remixed and sung by MoZella, an artist from Detroit.

The commercials, created by The Richards Group, are narrated by Kevin Yon, the same man who narrated the 2011 Super Bowl commercial.

Francois said the new tagline is part of a more optimistic story than the dark, urban grit captured in the "Imported from Detroit" ads.

"We are no longer the phoenix that has risen from the ashes," Francois said. "We have moved on."

Still, the automaker is repositioning its namesake brand, which is now meant to be its mainstream retail channel aimed more directly at Ford and Chevrolet.

Ads for Chrysler's new midsize sedan go for new brand image.

Francois said that idea has been in the works for several years and that the new Chrysler 200 was designed to go head-to-head with other midsize sedans such as the Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata.

The 2015 Chrysler 200 is a redesigned car, built off a new platform. The first shipments arrived at dealerships in May and dealers will receive more inventory in the coming days.

The car starts at $21,700, excluding destination charges. It is built at Chrysler's Sterling Heights assembly plant where the automaker invested more than $1 billion in a new paint shop and tooling specifically for the new vehicle.

Production line images are sprinkled throughout the new commercial along with images from Detroit.

Francois said the marketing campaign for the Chrysler 200 is more-multifaceted than most of the automaker's campaigns.

Chrysler will follow those first two commercials with four separate ads that highlight specific attributes of the car, including technology, infotainment, safety and fuel economy.